Online edition of Sunday Observer

"Inland Fish Food Fiesta", the fish festival spectacular, organised by the National Aqua-Culture Development Authority (NAQDA), will be ceremonially declared open by the Chief Guest, Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Mahinda Wijesekera, at 10 a.m. on December 20, at Vihara Maha Devi Park.

Short Term Fishery Yield: Red Tilapia - Low investment, easy breeding, hardy and yields over 350 Kg in 4 months.

Genetically Improved Farm Tilapia (GIFT) - the Best, in high demand from “pond farmers” - yields over 500 Kg in 4 months.

From 4. pm onwards the public can relish "Min Visithuru 2002", the ornamental fish carnival, and "Inland Food Fish Fiesta" which will come alive in stalls from 4 p.m. onwards, with top-notch local and foreign chefs laying out a melange of fiesty culinary delights with fresh water fish. The festival continues on December 21 and 22, starting at 10 am each day With this promotional attempt, NAQDA hopes to entice more local fish-rearers and out-growers to enter the fresh water and aquarium fish farming, to reduce rural poverty and enter the local industry into the "Eco-Fish" boom now taking the world by storm.

"The Cabinet has approved the Red Tilapia processing plant NAQDA proposes to set up with Malaysian investment in Uda Walawe," says Ariya Nanayakkara, its chairman. "since we began inland fish seed production with Tilapia and Carps for local fisher-farmers, this is the first time we are going to produce seeds with a buy-back system for export and mass-scale community production. With the new filleting plant we are installing, we can buy back fry and fingerlings which we give to the out-growers for rearing and develop high quality fish products to the world market."

And the star of the whole venture is of course, Red Tilapia introduced from Malaysia in 1996, improving greatly on his ancestor Mozambica brought to the country for the first time in 1951.

"The advantage with the Red Tilapia is its high growth rate, easy adaptation to our waters and being herbivorous, needs only a natural supplementary feed of rice bran, cow dung or poultry feed, other than the planktons already in reservoirs. It also gives the best protection for its brood," says H.M.U.K.P.B. Herath, Aqua-Culturist/OIC of NAQDA-Dambulla Project. Genetically improved Farm Tilapia, introduced in 2001, is even better. "Ninety per cent of the local inland fishery comes from Tilapia which is in many local perennial tanks while 50 per cent of local suffer from malnutrition," Herath adds. "Marine fish in villages is rare, costly and of low quality. Tilapia is the quickest method of giving them protein." The other fish reared in NAQDA hatcheries are Tilapia Nylotica, common Carp Indian Carp and Chinese Carp.

"This is organo farming with no chemicals to leave a residue in water used for harvesting," adds C.R. Tilak, Director-Aqua Culture, NAQDA.

"There is no adverse environment impact on the natural fishing communities. Motor boat or monofilament net fishing is not allowed. Though the Government acts as a law enforcer, fish rearing and resource development is managed entirely by the local rural communities."

NAQDA Extension Officers often travel into the heart of the country carrying out fish rearing training for local communities and hope to introduce Red/Gift Tilapia to many more pond farmers and seasonal and perennial tanks in Sri Lanka. "Sow fish seeds once and it will generate for fisher-farmers many more fish generations in the years to come."

“Soft belly” and ready for breeding - female brooder (mother).
Indian Carp - Cattala - injected in the pectoral fin for induced breeding.

Hatchery Jar - “Fish Mothers’ Labour Room”.

The hatchery

Matured brooders (prospective mothers) of Tilapia, Common Carp, Indian and Chinese Carp are netted from the Project's ponds and brought to the Hatchery which is the "Labour Room" of the fish mothers.

Into the Hatchery Jar go parent fish, two males in proportion to one female.

Although Tilapia and Common Carp breed naturally, Indian and Chinese Carp required "induced breeding" supported by a hormonal injection administered to the pectoral fin. Six hours later, the eggs come.

Mothers are removed and eggs circulate for 18 hours to produce larvae. The "baby larvae" is taken to the nurseries and fed to the "fry" stage or further grown to the "fingerling" stage.

fry and fingerlings are sold to the community for a lucrative fish harvest.

Culture Systems

Perennial tank: Fisher-farmer in Kandalama, “About 8,000 fry are released to the Wewa every two months.

"I first cultivated Tilapia in Purana Ibbankotuwa Wewa," says S.G.M.S. Silva of Galkiriyagama, Dambulla. "In a reservoir, you need more than one person to net fish and I badly wanted to go on my own and earn more profits." Silva got to know of the know-how of Tilapia growing, through the Extension Officer efforts of NAQDA - Aqua Culture Project at Dambulla. With the aid of a bank loan, he erected a mud pond of 1/4 acre, linking Wewa as the water source. "I bought GIFT fry from the Project and released them to the pond three months ago. Now each weighs about 350-450 gms and could go to about 800 Kg in six months."

"Matale District has about 45 such mud ponds," confirms his Extension Officer (EO), Senarath Jayamaha. Last month recorded the Dambulla Project's highest number of fry issued to ponds from Anuradhapura. "The reason being that Anuradhapura EOs and farmers buy fry from us and raise them in small ponds until the fingerling stage and then sell them to societies farming in seasonal tanks there."

A Seasonal Tank: Asokananda, releasing Red Tilalapia fry to a seasonal tank in Potana, Dambulla. “ Rs. 20,000 spent for 13,000 Red Tilapia fry can yield 6,000 Kg of fish worth about Rs. 3 lakhs.”

Inland fishery allows for the opportunity of shared water use at the community level, using irrigation schemes and seasonal floodplains/tanks which remain dry for a certain part of the year and get replenished when rains come. Seasonal tanks fall under the purview of Agrarian Services Department and paddy farmers from the Govi Jana Organizations form small fishery sub-committees to manage tanks.

"We are going to release 13,000 Red Tilapia fry to Potana Seasonal Tank," says Asokananda, Secretary, Visakha Govi Sanvidanaya, Dambulla. "Each cost us only Rs. 1/50." The major perennial tanks, such as Kandalama Wewa, coming under the Irrigation Authorities, are operated by Fishery Co-operative Societies.

"Kandalama Wewa got its first batch of fish in 1978," says EO. "Tilapia breeds easily. The Wewa now has a regular supply of Tilapia, Nylotica and Carp."